SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Can you believe this is the last Sunday before Christmas?

I can’t believe how quickly this holiday season has sped by. I haven’t even had a chance to do any Christmas baking yet! But I am excited, because it’s been a long time since I had a chance to get a new release OPI holiday shade, so when I saw a few of the new collection, I had to pick on. & as soon as I saw this beautiful & dark shimmer shade, I knew I needed it for my collection!

2 coats + OPI Infinite Shiner Top Coat

How freaking beautiful is this shade? It’s a deep reddish brown shade with this stunning bronze-y shimmer — which you can really see in the bottle. The formula was pretty dark perfect, smooth & easy to apply. Two coats gave perfect application, which left a smooth & perfectly applied manicure. Obviously, red is one of my favourite manicure colours so I will always be drawn to it, but I do feel like there is something a little extra special about this polish.

I picked up my bottle of OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems at my local Chatters Salon, but you can find this shade wherever OPI shades are sold. It is available in regular formula, the Infinite Shine formula, & in the Gel formula as well.

What do you think about OPI Infinite Shine Bring Out The Big Gems? Have you picked up any shades from the OPI 2022 Holiday collection? Which one was your favourite? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & what colour you’re planning on wearing on your nails for Christmas Eve!

SWATCH SUNDAY — China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party

Hello my loves & Happy Sunday! This is the second Sunday of December, so I’m keeping with the Christmas-ish polish tradition, & trying to share shades that are related in some way to the holiday!

This past week I did a poll on my Instagram asking if people would rather see China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party (Holiday 2015) or OPI Bring Out The Big Gems (Holiday 2022) this week, & with an overwhelming majority, Ugly Sweater Party was the winner!

2 coats, No Top Coat

China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party is a pink jelly formula, packed tightly with an assortment of glitters, including holographic. The formula is a tad on the thick side, but with a little bit of patience, I easily covered my whole nail in two coats. You could probably sponge on the glitter for a denser packed glitter effect, but I much prefer it applied this way as I like the overall finish.

Truthfully, I don’t know if I can remember ever wearing this shade as a full manicure like this before. I originally bought the polish because I loved the name, & glitter is my weakness, but I think I’ve truthfully only used it in glitter gradients, or maybe as a single accent nail, which makes me sad.

I was also surprised I had never swatched this shade previous Decembers, so I was happy. to do both for todays post! This is definitely a fun glitter shade, & just screams Christmas party to me! My Christmas party days are long behind me, but to be honest if I were every invited to one — & didn’t have time for a full nail art look — this would be my #1 polish pick for such an occasion.

Do you remember China Glaze Ugly Sweater Party from its original 2015 release? Did you have this sparkly shade in your stash, or do you still have this glitter on rotation? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Quo Beauty Green With Envy

Good morning lovelies, & happy first official Sunday of December! It’s time.

Every year, I try & find shades that are Christmas-y/seasonal to share during my December Swatch Sunday posts. I’m going to be honest — I don’t have as many Christmas collections as I thought I did, so I’ve started having to get creative with my picks. Also, I definitely plan on making my way to the Chatters by my work day to see if they have any new collections to check out.

This week’s pick is a relatively new shade from Quo Beauty: Green with Envy.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Quo Beauty brand, it’s the in-house brand for the Canadian Pharmacy Shoppers Drug Mart. The collections range in price between $12.49 CAD to $13.99 CAD depending on the finish, but they do semi-frequently go on sale which will usually save you a few dollars. I also love to wait for when the Quo Beauty nail polishes go on clearance, because I’ve scored shades for anywhere between $1-$3 before!

2 coats, no top coat.

First coat went on surprisingly thin, especially for a matte polish — I always find matte shades have relatively thicker formulas, but this one left a little to be desired on the first coat. Second coat, though, left me with perfect opacity, & full nail coverage.

Dry time, like most matte shades, was pretty quick, I like the soft finish with little bit of shimmer giving that velvet effect. The whole combination gives Green with Envy the effect of a beauty velvet Christmas dress, like the matching ones my Mom used to dress me & my sister in when we kids. Hence why I picked it for this week’s Swatch Sunday pick.

What do you think of Quo Beauty Green with Envy? Do you like these kind of velvet effect matte polishes for the holiday season? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below, & if you’ve tried any of the Quo Beauty nail polishes before. Also — if you can think of any 2022 holiday shades I must track down to swatch for this year, let me know! Still on the hunt for the Sally Hansen Merry & Bright shades I didn’t get to swatch yet, but they seem to be the most popular ones.

Happy Sunday loves!

SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Merry & Bright Collection (Holiday 2022)

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Hello lovelies & happy Sunday!

Can you believe it’s already the 20th of November? Like… it’s almost December! This year is almost over. Which means it’s my favourite time of year — Holiday nail polish collection time! & I was super excited, & grateful, because my besties over at Sally Hansen were kind enough to send me 4 of the beautiful shades from the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Merry & Bright Collection for Holiday 2022. They also sent me a gorgeous gold & green stone happy face bracelet which I’m absolutely loving.

But let’s get onto the swatches, shall we?

Continue reading “SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Merry & Bright Collection (Holiday 2022)”

SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI Vampsterdam

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday. The last Sunday of October — because this month is just going by at a crazy rate! I thought for this weeks Swatch Sunday I would come up with something kind of Halloween-y to share, & this latest Winners find definitely fits the bill!

This is OPI Vampsterdam— originally released as part of the Spring/Summer 2012 Holland Collection. But I totally feel like between the name & the shade, it could be a Fall shade.

2 coats, no top coat

The shade itself is a very warm plum, with stunning frosty shimmer. I needed 2 coats for full coverage, but I did find I needed to wait a bit between coats because if not it would pull a bit (see my pinky finger). The formula was also quite thin, but it was also a brand new bottle, so maybe that was why? Either way, not big issues that take away from the polish.

The shade itself is absolutely stunning, & very perfect for late October. It’s beautiful & definitely vampy. It also has a lovely jewel tone to it that I feel like translates into holiday party season. Definitely another winner & shade that I will find myself reaching for again & again.

Over all, I love this shade.

I’m not 100% sure on availability in store — this is obviously OPI’s newer label — but it is available to “try on” via the OPI website in both regular & Infinite Shine, but I couldn’t find an option to buy. However, I did find a link to it on Amazon.ca & Tradesecrets.ca — both in the Infinite Shine formula. So if you need this shade, that’s probably your best options!

What do you think of OPI Vampsterdam? Would you wear this shade? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below!